Production Supervisor at Playwrights Horizons Theater School

Organizational Summary:

The Playwrights Horizons Theater School (PHTS) has provided thousands of theater students with intensive theater training through a four-year program that emphasizes professional development and interdisciplinary theater making. The curriculum provides courses in acting, directing, playwriting, design, movement, and voice and speech to nearly 200 students each year.

Playwrights Horizons is a writer’s theater committed to the advancement of bold and visionary contemporary playwrights, through the development and production of daring new work and the education of future theatermakers.

Reports to:

Director, Playwrights Horizons Theater School

Position Summary:

The Production Supervisor (PS) is a full-time faculty role with substantial administrative responsibilities supporting anywhere from 20-30 small-scale student productions per semester in a festival setting. Serving as a liaison between production staff and students who are leading projects with their peers, the PS facilitates clear communication about technical production plans and guides students through navigating leadership as it pertains to design and technical production.  This position comes with a 5 day a week in-office commitment during the school year which may flex to include nights and weekends as needed during production. 

Responsibilities:

Teaching

• Oversee and develop technical production curriculum in collaboration with the Director
• Co-teach the Project Design class with the advanced training design faculty as determined by the Director
• Collect and grade student project plans submission
• Teach the design half of the Transfer Intensives course
• Includes all attendant faculty responsibilities such as grading and writing evaluations.
• Teach technical production workshops across the studio as needed such as ladder safety and ground plan fundamentals
• Teach students safety best practices and basic technical skills as needed, especially during the technical rehearsal process
• Attend staff, faculty, Project Track, and design area meetings 
• Hold regular office hours
• Conduct regular plan review meetings with individual student project leaders
• Develop relationships with both the Tisch Dept. of Drama Production Resource Office (PRO) and Playwrights Horizons Production Uptown (PH)
• Support students in developing problem-solving skills including interpersonal conflict management
• Oversee production programming in collaboration with PH such as student tech observerships
• View a sampling of student productions regularly
• Participate in the planning and execution of school events such as First and Final Friday, orientation, and curricular info sessions as needed
• Stay current with professional training and development within both technical production and academic skills such as classroom management, conflict resolution, anti-racism, consent practices, etc.
• Facilitate conflict resolution processes as needed
• Maintain mental health first aid certification
• Maintain a professional practice within the field

Technical 

• Serve as a technical adviser for student projects and productions
• Partner with the Lead Technical Supervisor on tracking student production needs and determining the necessary technical support
• Coordinate student inventory requests
• Serve as a liaison between the Lead Technical Supervisor, PRO, faculty, and students
• Create and maintain documentation regarding student production processes and resources
• Meet weekly with the Lead Technical Supervisor and Manager of Student Productions  
• Support the load in and technical rehearsals of student productions as needed
• Coordinate the strike of student productions with Lead Technical Supervisor and Technical Supervisors
• Assist in ensuring that students conduct their technical production work safely
• Coordinate first year student crew assignments for all student productions, including the Mainstage
• Coordinate the fulfillment of classroom production requests in collaboration with the Manager of Academic Affairs and Lead Technical Supervisor
• Maintain fire guard certification

Requirements

• Minimum 3-5 years of practical experience working in technical theater in a range of production scales
• Able to work in person, must be available to work nights and weekends during production weeks including load in and load out
• Able to pass a background check 
• Teaching or mentorship experience
•  Experience teaching and working in an undergraduate learning environment preferred
• Experience working as a designer and/or director a plus
• A thorough knowledge of theatrical production materials, tools, and equipment
• Strong understanding of all aspects of technical theater including: lighting, sound, and projections. A working knowledge of carpentry is a plus.
• A working understanding of design principles and process including best practices regarding the director, designer, and technician relationships
• Excellent verbal, written, and visual communication skills
• Facilitation and conflict resolution skills, a plus.
• Ability to lift 50 lbs., climb ladders, and perform manual labor as needed
• Ability to read and produce technical drawings in Vectorworks
• High professional standards with acute attention to detail

Salary & Benefits:

Salary: $60,000 per year

Playwrights Horizons offers a comprehensive benefits package including 10 days (two weeks) of vacation, four personal days, and 10 sick days. Employees have access to individual medical, dental, and vision coverage, with various plan options available through Oxford Health Plans. Playwrights Horizons partially subsidizes health and dental insurance and provides vision insurance at no charge to employees. Our benefits package further includes life insurance policy, a 403b retirement plan, and flexible spending accounts for medical, dental, and dependent care expenses. Other perks include a health reimbursement account, Transitchek for transportation expenses, and complimentary and staff-rate tickets to our productions. 

Values Statement:

Playwrights Horizons is committed to building a more just future for everyone -- particularly those from historically oppressed communities, by employing a broad spectrum of voices that will enrich the quality and vitality of our work. Playwrights Horizons is an equal opportunity employer that has a strong institutional commitment to uprooting all systems of oppression by demonstrative equitable and inclusive practices.

The organization is interested in receiving applications from people of all races, sexual orientations, gender identities, ages, classes, religions, and people with disabilities.

The facilities at Playwrights Horizons are accessible and ADA compliant.

We are accepting applications for this position until Wednesday, May 28th. Please submit your application materials to our portal HERE. No phone calls please.

Full link; https://form.asana.com/?k=Z1T_wPGGst0ff4G0GQZjZg&d=17022989146991

05/28/2025